Where to score free chili Thursday, courtesy of San Antonio

A rendering of what the San Antonio Convention and Visitors Bureau food truck will look like Thursday.

A rendering of what the San Antonio Convention and Visitors Bureau food truck will look like Thursday. (Proof Advertising)

Lori RacklChicago Tribune

It's going to be chili in Chicago on Thursday, thanks to San Antonio.

The Texas city is temporarily taking over the Tamale Spaceship food truck, where free cups of chili con carne will be handed out from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday, which happens to be National Chili Day.

The truck — tricked out with Texas flair — will be parked at Wacker Drive and Adams Street near Willis Tower.

It's part of a campaign by tourism officials in San Antonio to spur Chicagoans to visit the vacation destination that boasts 300 days of sunshine a year.

"We're excited to bring some warmth from San Antonio to Chicago," said Emily Gary, a Proof Advertising account director who helped create the event, along with Matador Network, for the San Antonio Convention and Visitors Bureau. The hashtag? #ChiliNotChilly.

"We have a real cultural and culinary connection with Chicago," Gary said. "Back at the 1893 World's Fair, San Antonio chili was first introduced to those outside of Texas."

San Antonio CVB

San Antonio representatives will be handing out free chili made from an old chili con carne recipe.

San Antonio representatives will be handing out free chili made from an old chili con carne recipe. (San Antonio CVB)

That same chili con carne recipe is what will be used by San Antonio chef Elizabeth Johnson and Tamale Spaceship food truck co-founder Manny Hernandez, she added.

That evening, San Antonio is hosting a public party at Rockit Burger Bar, 3700 N. Clark, from 6 to 9 p.m. Tex-Mex appetizers and signature San Antonio cocktails will be served at the limited-space event. Entry is free.

On Saturday, the CVB will put on a family-focused event from noon to 4 p.m. at the DuPage Children's Museum in Naperville featuring folk dancers, a SeaWorld San Antonio Skype session, cookie decorating and giveaways.

So what's up with all this Lone Star State love? Tourism officials said Chicago is a key market for San Antonio, which has had quite a bit to brag about in recent years.

Conrad Malus/JPD GRAPHICS

A worker transforms a food truck for the San Antonio Convention and Visitors Bureau.

A worker transforms a food truck for the San Antonio Convention and Visitors Bureau. (Conrad Malus/JPD GRAPHICS)

"Everybody knows about the River Walk and Alamo," said Andres Munoz, vice president of marketing and communications for the San Antonio CVB. "What people don't know is how the destination has evolved in the last 10 years to be much broader than those two big icons."

UNESCO designated the city's five Spanish colonial missions — including the Alamo — as World Heritage Sites last summer. San Antonio recently debuted an interactive museum for kids, the DoSeum, and Lonely Planet named the city one of the country's Top 10 places to visit in 2016. www.visitsanantonio.com